Motorways procure unusable mowers for KM 210,600, job also awaits Jelka's son-in-law Dario Đolo!?

(Patria) - While Autoceste FBiH remain silent on all journalistic inquiries, and stories about suspicious public procurements during Adnan Terzić's (SBB) term are surfacing, it is increasingly evident that investigative bodies have work to do in this public enterprise.

Following the story about the procurement of a multi-purpose vehicle for the needs and maintenance of motorways worth a staggering KM 701,415 with VAT, awarded to the bidder UNI-COM d.o.o. Orašje, which is parked at Bijača, we bring you a story about the procurement of robotic and manual mowers for maintenance purposes amounting to KM 210,600.

The contract was awarded to the company “Džida“ from Čitluk, which also did not respond to Patria's inquiry.

As the sole, and therefore most favorable bidder, they concluded a deal worth KM 210,600 with JP Autoceste FBiH for the procurement of robotic and manual mowers for maintenance purposes. 

The most problematic aspect, besides the fact that usually only one company bids for public tenders, is that the mowers are unusable on the motorway sections, given that they are heavy and intended for golf courses, not the steep slopes along the motorway.

“Anyone who has driven on the motorway in Bosnia and Herzegovina knows what the surrounding terrain is like. The procured mowers are heavy and not designed for such terrain. They are standing idle and are unusable. At the same time, contracts are given to companies that maintain and mow the areas around the motorway. Double costs are being incurred, all in order to secure business for certain companies, primarily Croatian ones,” says Patria's source.

Just like with the procurement of the multi-purpose vehicle, the scheme is the same with the acquisition of the mowers. 

“Džida“, as the sole bidder, ultimately concluded the deal, under the direction of Marin Jelčić, executive director for management and maintenance of JP Autoceste. Jelčić is an HDZ BiH appointee and has sovereign control over public procurements in JP Autoceste FBiH with the approval of general director Terzić.

Marin Jelčić (HDZ BiH) previously worked at Croatia osiguranje and had no management experience. Jelčić was also part of the HDZ BiH Mostar structures.

In a very simple analysis, you come to the conclusion that companies with Croatian affiliation mostly appear as sole bidders, which is also the case in the procurement of robotic and manual mowers.

JP Autoceste FBiH ignored all calls and inquiries from the Patria agency, which we have made multiple times and requested answers to our questions.

Autoceste also refused to answer which external associates-companies they have contracts with for motorway maintenance and what the value of those contracts is. We also learned that an inspection visit can be expected soon, which will thoroughly investigate all public procurements, and there have been many, as well as hirings.

According to Patria's findings, the employment of Dario Đolo, the son-in-law of the Minister of Finance in the FBiH Government, Jelka Milićević, is currently being processed at JP Autoceste FBiH.

Đolo came into the public eye in 2017 when it was announced that he was hired at the Banking Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina without a competition, and the agency at the time claimed that information on whether Dario Đolo, the son-in-law of the federal Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević, was hired without a competition at the FBiH Banking Agency did not represent public interest!?

Adnan Terzić is behaving similarly now, and JP Autoceste FBiH is ignoring media inquiries.

We also learned that a number of criminal charges have been filed against him, but he is relaxed because the Prosecutor's Office of BiH is sovereignly controlled by HDZ BiH, to whose appointees Terzić serves everything through public procurements.

It is known that by 2017, the number of employees at Autoceste had already exceeded 400, and the question is how many officials are working in this company today and what exactly they do, when they manage the same number of kilometers of motorway and at the same time have a drastically reduced number of active construction sites compared to the previous period.

The management of Autoceste FBiH has never presented information on the current number of employees in this public enterprise, with a breakdown of the positions they hold, and the employment plan for the upcoming period.